Wings are well known in the state of art and may be used to generate lift for various purposes.
In aerial vehicles, such as aircrafts, wings are used for generating lift and stabilizing and controlling the aerial vehicle. A traditional aircraft comprises a fuselage, a main wing attached to the fuselage for providing lift, a horizontal tail wing and a vertical tail wing provided at the rear of the aerial vehicle primarily for providing stability and control.
In order to control the aerial vehicle, these wings may comprise control means to influence the incident flow that flows over the wings. Conventional control means are for example ailerons, flaps, spoilers or combinations thereof. These control means disturb the flow over the wing such that the lift of the wing changes, resulting in a change of force. This change of lift may result in the aerial vehicle to pitch, yaw or roll.
For an efficient pitch, yaw and roll the control means must generate a sufficient change of lift. This results in control means that have a relative large surface area. In order to actuate these control means, mechanisms are necessary that weigh significantly compared with a mass of the wing.
For large aircraft, such as disclosed in patent publication RU-2,266,233, the control means are located near a trailing edge of the wing and extend along a span of the wing.
For small aerial vehicles, in particular unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), alternative means for controlling are used. Patent publication WO-2008/125868 shows a UAV having adjustable wings. The sweep and span of the main wing are adjustable in order to roll and yaw. The mechanisms for adjusting the wings are complicated and comprise various spars, actuators and hinges in the wing. This increases weight and therefore reduces the overall performance of the UAV.
Drawback of these wings is that relative heavy and elaborate control means may be necessary to generate a sufficient change of lift of the wing.